


No Escape

by firefly_quill



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at humour, Blood, Feelings, Genji Shimada is a Little Shit, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Suggested Sex, Swearing, hades au, no one dies for real here except some wretches, non-permanent death, so many injuries, violence consistent with both games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27623216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefly_quill/pseuds/firefly_quill
Summary: Not finding the answers he wants in the Underworld, Jesse, son of The Reaper, plots his escape from his father. Again. And again.
Relationships: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 52
Kudos: 133





	1. Ταρταρος - Tartarus

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> As always, this fic turned out...differently than I expected! 
> 
> It loosely takes place in the world of the game Hades, but with an Overwatch cast. I struggled with this one quite a bit, partially because the first part especially follows the main game mechanic of Hades, partially because the story took a real turn. 
> 
> This story should be understandable even if you've not played Hades, but am happy to answer questions!
> 
> There are spoilers for the game's mechanics and some of the overarching plot. Some voice lines from the game have also been attributed to different characters in this story, but I don't think you'd know which ones unless you've played the game itself. 
> 
> The more I type the more nervous about this I get! Would love to hear your thoughts, as always! <3
> 
> Edit: I've changed the tags a bit since the first chapter was posted. Note that none of the deaths in the story are permanent!

“And the journey is . . . neither simple nor single, for if it were, there would be no need of guides, since no one could miss the way to any place if there were only one road. But really there seem to be many forks of the road and many windings” -- Plato, _Phaedo_

\---

“Who’s got the hot hand?”

Jesse blew the infernal smoke from Peacekeeper’s barrel as the last wretch in the chamber exploded with a loud squishing sound. After several false starts, McCree had finally made it through most of the rooms of Tartarus with barely a scratch. And while it was the beginning of what would likely be a long journey out of the Underworld, it was still the first step of many, and he had made it as far as he’d ever been.

Jesse reloaded Peacekeeper with a flick of his wrist as the stone doors slid open in front of him.

“Alright, who wants to die next?” he drawled as he stepped into the next chamber. He had not expected a reply.

“Thought you could just get away from me, did you?”

Jesse’s heart skipped a beat at hearing that voice.

A single creature stood before him in a room supported by several large pillars, and lined with spike traps. He wore what looked like an ornate red mask that featured sharp teeth and glowing yellow eyes. A single, white, feathered wing its full expanse as he flexed his muscular shoulders backwards. He grasped an ornate bow in one hand, and the muscles of his arm flexed noticeably as he tested his own grasp. Jesse swallowed hard.

_Oh no. Not him._

“What?” The Daitengu challenged. “No obnoxious coquettery?”

“Just surprised, that’s all.” Jesse wasn’t sure whether he was more offended by Hanzo’s words or his sudden appearance. “It’s been awhile, Han.”

“Some of us have serious work to do,” Hanzo replied haughtily.

“Is that what brings you here?” McCree asked with some annoyance. “Work?”

“One of my many tasks is to keep unruly shades from leaving Tartarus, yes.”

“Ain’t a shade,” Jesse corrected him. “And if I recall, you used to find my unruliness fun.”

“I used to put up with many things,” Hanzo shrugged. “And it was a novelty.”

“You’ve been avoidin’ me for how many mortal lifetimes, and now I was just a novelty?” Jesse frowned, as something in the Yokai’s tone struck a chord deep in his chest.

Hanzo shifted uncomfortably. “It has not been so long.”

“But the avoidin’ part, that was accurate?”

“Enough!” Hanzo barked, gesturing with his bow. He drew an arrow with his other hand. “It is Lord Gabriel’s will that this ends now.”

Jesse chuckled ruefully to himself and shook his head. “I don’t wanna fight you, Hanzo.”

“Then this will be over even more quickly than I imagined,” Hanzo retorted, lifting his loaded bow.

“Have it your way,” Jesse shrugged. Peacekeeper’s shots rang out before he had even finished speaking. Still, it was not fast enough. Hanzo dashed away to easily avoid the shots, and fired a volley of his own.

“Goddammit,” Jesse muttered, ducking behind a stone pillar. This was not how he had hoped this reunion would go.

“Marked,” Hanzo whispered from across the room.

Jesse knew what that meant too well. Reloading with another flick of his wrist, McCree pressed against the pillar more fully, hoping that the stone fully hid his figure. The sound of an arrow too close to his left ear made him roll instinctively to the right. Somehow, Hanzo was already there, two feet in front of him, bow drawn, likely smirking behind that goddamn mask.

“Hello.”

“Oh fuc--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

When Jesse finally blinked himself to consciousness, all he could see was red. He knew too well what this meant too, unfortunately. Propelling himself upwards, he breached the surface of the River Styx, and almost instantly found his footing in the House’s Great Hall. He shook his head several times to get the blood out of his ears.

“Ugh.”

“Arrow to the head. Guess that means Hanzo found his mark.” A smug voice greeted him.

“Don’t sound so broken up over it,” Jesse muttered. “Why are you keepin’ track of my untimely deaths anyhow?”

“One of my many duties,” Sombra shrugged, examining her nails.

“No, it’s clearly not,” Jesse glared at her.

“Clearly,” Sombra agreed. “It’s much more interesting though.”

Jesse flipped her the bird on his way past.

“That was fast.” The Reaper’s voice echoed through the halls as Jesse approached the monument of a desk.

“Fast? Nearly made it out of Tartarus that time,” Jesse protested.

“ _Nearly._ ” Reaper smirked, not even looking up from his parchmentwork.

“Why’d you have to have to rope Hanzo into this?” Jesse demanded. “That ain’t fair. We used to train together all the time.”

“If you cannot get past Shimada, then clearly he benefited from that training far more than you,” Reaper scoffed. “Perhaps he will finally make you see this undertaking as the folly that it is. At least someone in this House follows my command.”

“I’m goin’, Gabe.” Jesse shook the blood from his hat onto the red carpet. Reaper finally looked up to frown downward at the mess. “I’m no use to you here.”

“And whose fault is that?!” Gabriel stood and every candle flickered as a cold gust of air sliced through the room. “I took you into this House, and yet it somehow offends you. I try to make you part of something larger than yourself, and you seek to undo its natural order.”

Jesse blinked up at his father. “Wait. ‘Took me in’? What d’you even mean by that?”

The Reaper huffed, and turned to look back at his work. “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

_I don’t need to explain myself to you._

McCree could have sworn he’d just heard double. Then again, there were many voices echoing just barely at the edges of his comprehension in the Hall at any given time. Voices were not new. All around him, shades of the recently deceased wandered aimlessly, waiting their turn to be processed and sent to one of the realms of the Underworld. They would speak to those who would listen, and would emit a low-level hum even without an audience.

“Fine,” Jesse snapped. “I’ll find my own answers then.”

“I’m sure that you will,” Reaper waved him off dismissively. “And you’ll be sure to tell me about them when you next return.”

“Not returnin’!” Jesse called back as he continued down the hall towards his room. McCree had known on some level that, being the son of the Reaper, any death in the chambers of the Underworld would just bring him back to the River Styx, and back to the House. He just hadn’t been prepared for the gloating. Jesse stomped straight for the exit, not even bothering to consider new equipment.

“Again.”

\---

McCree cut through the wretches commanded by his father in the ever-changing rooms of Tartarus with ease, once again, stopping for breath only once he came to the stone door etched with the double dragon insignia. Steeling his will, he entered.

Hanzo was once again already waiting for him.

“Howdy,” Jesse tipped his hat and winked.

“Hmph.”

Without any further greeting, almost quicker than Jesse could follow, Hanzo had loaded his bow and fired his first shot. Jesse ducked away from it easily, and retaliated with a few shots of his own. Hanzo dodged them without any effort, and nocked another arrow.

Jesse jumped behind a pillar just in time.

“Can’t help but think you’re a lil’ angry at me, Han,” Jesse tilted his head slightly to call out.

“Angry. Angry?” Hanzo’s voice fell low and a tension trembled just below its surface. Jesse had known the daitengu long enough to recognize this as a bad sign.

“You left without so much as telling me goodbye!”

A huge volley of arrows rocked the pillar’s very foundations as they hit, and Jesse scrambled out of the way just before a large rock could strike him in the head.

_Oh._

Jesse peered out from under the rubble to make eye contact. Hanzo was staring right back at him, expression obscured by the mask. His shoulders were heaving from breaths that McCree knew were meant to steady himself. Jesse lowered his gun just an inch. “Han…”

Hanzo’s bow barely tilted downward as well, and Jesse took the opening.

Hanzo hissed, doubling forward and grasping at his shoulder as the bullet hit. Jesse regretted it instantly.

“I’m sorry, Hanzo,” Jesse shook his head, lowering his gun completely. He rushed to Hanzo’s side, but kept his hands hovered over the other man’s shoulders as he was unsure of whether he would be allowed to touch. “I left when I thought it necessary. Thought you’d understand. I have to do this. Not necessarily just for me either. Don’t know if I can properly explain it.”

Hanzo huffed, not looking up to meet Jesse’s gaze. “That’s more motivation than I’ve ever heard from you. Well, if you won’t say it, I’ll say it. Goodbye, Jesse.”

Jesse felt a sudden impact deep in his chest, and realized this must have been what it was like for mortals to feel their heart breaking.

Then he looked down and saw the short blade wedged between his ribs.

“Dirty pool, Han--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

Jesse emerged from the Styx, still rubbing at a wound in his chest that was no longer there.

“How have the minutes since your last death been treating you?” Sombra purred.

“Shut up!” Jesse grumbled, intentionally shaking his hat out in her general direction.

“Habibi? A word?”

Bastet’s voice was a welcome solace. She was standing beside the entrance of his room.

“How can I help you, ma’am?” He flashed her his best smile out of habit. Nothing gets past Bastet, however.

She reached up for his chin to pull it towards her, and regarded him for a moment.

“I was actually hoping to help you.”

“You’ve already been a great help,” Jesse insisted. “Tellin’ me that there was a way out of the Underworld, describing what to expect. Couldn’t have gotten as far as I did without you.”

“Hmm.” Clearly, his escape attempts were not what Bastet was worried about. “I hear that Hanzo has returned.”

“Yeah? Didn’t notice,” Jesse grumbled. He began to rub unconsciously at his chest again.

“What had you expected from him, exactly?” Bastet tilted her head. “To go against Lord Reaper’s will?”

“You did,” Jesse pointed out.

“I have that luxury,” Bastet agreed, retracting her hand. “But Hanzo does not. And I know that your place is not here, habibi,” she added more gently. “While Hanzo may come to realize this by himself, you are his best and only friend. And the task that you undertake means that he must watch you die, over and over. And your father’s orders mean that he must be the one who takes your life, on occasion. Do you understand?”

“Oh...yeah,” Jesse rubbed at his neck, embarrassed that he had not thought of it in that way before. Truth be told, he wouldn’t know how to react were their positions reversed. He would like to think that he would support Hanzo’s decision, but the idea of life in the Underworld without his best friend was something that Jesse’s heart could not bear even only to imagine.

“He masks his concern with his anger,” Bastet continued. “Because he knows of no other way to express it. Be gentle with him.”

“You’re right, of course,” Jesse acknowledged with a half-hearted smile.

“I always am,” Bastet reminded him. “Now go. Try again.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Jesse saluted her, and sprinted towards his rooms.

\---

After some time, the dragon stone doors slid open once again.

“Howdy!”

Jesse barely dodged the arrow that was launched in reply.

“Listen, Han, I wanna apologize--”

Another arrow.

“You shot me,” Hanzo hissed.

“Yeah, well you stabbed me,” Jesse countered. He continued to walk towards the Yokai. Hanzo fired arrow after arrow towards him, not even pausing for breath.

“Look, Hanzo, just _wait_.” Jesse swept Hanzo’s feet from under him. Hanzo grunted, but rolled backwards gracefully to regain balance.

“I brought you this.” Jesse reached forward to extend a bottle of nectar. Hanzo just stared at it in disbelief.

“You thought that _this_ would mend all that you have put us through?”

“Well. No,” Jesse admitted. “But I just thought that it might be somethin’ that you’d like.”

“You’ve never gotten me anything before.” He sounded suspicious, sullen.

“Well, I should’ve,” Jesse shrugged. “Besides, isn’t there somethin’ in your rulebook about havin’ to accept offerings?”

“I should have never told you that,” Hanzo snapped, reaching to grasp the bottle. “Fine. I’ll take it. But I owe you nothing. Here.”

Hanzo shoved something into his hand. It was a small, meticulously carved stone dragon.

“Oh wow...Han, this is beautif--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

Jesse chuckled despite himself as he made his way out of the Styx yet again, rubbing at the spot on his neck where Hanzo’s arrow had pierced straight through. He realized that his fingers were clenched around an object, and looked down to find the dragon figurine. Jesse tucked it into his tunic for safekeeping.

“Hey, why is your cause of death listed as ‘gay panic’?”

“Wait, what?”

Sombra disappeared in a flash of purple before Jesse could grab the ledger out of her hands to confirm.

“Stop bothering Hanzo.”

“I’m not botherin’ him,” Jesse snapped at Reaper. “I’m tryin’ to mend our friendship, which has been a lil’ strained since you ordered him to kill me.”

“He was avoiding you long before I ever did that. Or do you not recall?” Lord Gabriel snorted.

Jesse stalked away without another word, knowing that Reaper was right. They were all right. He had left without thinking of saying goodbye to his best friend, blinded by his determination to...to do what exactly?

Suddenly, McCree was just tired. While the consequences of attempts were never permanent, the pain was very real.

“Get some rest, habibi,” Bastet chided, offering Jesse some insight to how he must look.

“Thanks, Bastet. I will,” Jesse promised.

He checked his appearance in the mirror that Bastet had gifted him as soon as he got to his room to confirm what he already knew to be true: he looked like he had not slept in eons.

“Well, a lil’ shut eye might do me good,” he murmured, kicking off his shoes and gear until he was just comfortable enough. His eyes felt heavy the moment his head hit the pillow, and he wondered briefly before closing them whether it was Bastet at work.

\---

A while ago...

_Jesse woke, as he expected to, to an eerie and unnatural silence. Taking this as a sign that Bastet had succeeded in accommodating his request, he entered the halls, still as quietly as he could, to find them relatively empty. In the lounge, some shades had fallen asleep at the tables where they had been sitting before Bastet had cast her sleep spell._

_McCree made his way to Reaper’s desk, breathing a small sigh of relief at finding it empty. He climbed the steps to get a better look at the desk’s contents. The desk itself was cluttered, but not necessarily disorderly. Jesse made careful note of where each item was placed so as not to misplace it afterwards._

_Most of the desk’s contents were as Jesse expected: lists of the dead coupled with their cause of death, details about each shade’s life relevant to their placement in each of the Underworld’s realms, payroll charts for those in the House’s employment._

_Jesse investigated further, not sure exactly what he was trying to find, only knowing that there was something to be found._

_Out of the corner of his eye, McCree saw something catch the light cast by the sconces flickering on the walls. Frowning, Jesse reached for it: a wax seal carved from gold. He turned it over and ran his fingers gently over the design: a stylized “T” imposed upon a shield. As Jesse tilted the seal towards the light, the etched lines shifted into a more ornate design: a dagger pressed itself into a more angular shield, set with red gems that looked like a pair of eyes._

_Sigils had meaning, had power. While Jesse could not recognize the gods or monsters associated with either, he could feel the darkness in both, and the unmistakable evil emanating from the “T” seal. The dagger was more...complicated. From it, Jesse could sense shadow, and a deliberate unclarity, but no malice. In fact, there was an underlying rush of something pure at its heart._

_“So which is it, then?” Jesse murmured._

_“Who’s there?” Reaper’s voice snarled from behind him._

\---

Jesse sat up with a gasp to find himself in his own bed. That had been the moment he had decided he needed to go to the surface. Something told him that the answers to his father’s allegiances were literally beyond his reach. Bastet had all but confirmed that suspicion, although she refused to tell him anything further. The truth of the matter was for him to find.

Questions had been taunting him for some time now: questions that themselves had refused to manifest out loud. The dream had made some of these queries take a more recognizable shape, yet the exact words for them, Jesse still did not have.

Then there was Hanzo.

Jesse groaned and fell back down onto his pillow.

The way in which Hanzo had forced himself into this situation felt too familiar. Hanzo had many questions to ask of him as well, and once again, the words never seemed quite right. There were answers that Jesse reached for that would dissipate into air whenever he got too close. And while it seemed that Jesse might be running away from their friendship, in his heart of hearts McCree knew that this journey would bring him closer to those answers too, in time.

McCree jumped out of bed, taking one long stretch before suiting up again. He rummaged through a pile of clothes and successfully pulled out another bottle of nectar that he had unintentionally stored there before marching towards the gates again. Bribing Hanzo to let him past was not an option, of course, but perhaps mending their relationship was.

“One more time.”

As Jesse walked through the portal, he felt the familiar pull upwards. He landed on the other side of the House’s gates, knee to the ground, with a satisfying thud. Just barely, at the edge of his consciousness, there was a soft sound unlike any other he had ever heard in his father’s domain. It was the peal of a shimmering bell, and the sound itself seemed to lift upwards to the sky.

“Uh...hello?”

Silence.

No, that wasn’t the right phrase. Jesse tried again.

“In the name of the Reaper, I accept this message!”

The bell sounded again, louder, closer. Jesse felt a soft breeze against his face as a light yellow descended from above, bringing a goddess robed in white, gold and blue with it. A bright green crown of laurels framed her head.

“Greetings, Jesse,” she smiled, her voice every bit as warm as the light emanating from her very body. “Your task to join our pantheon is a noble one, and has caught our notice. We would welcome you warmly on Olympus, good cousin.”

“I’m grateful for you appearance, Lady Nike, but I think you’re mistak--”

“Our communication lines are limited, I’m afraid,” Nike continued on as though Jesse hadn’t spoken. “I have only just enough time to assure you of my friendship, as allies against your dreadful father,” Here, the goddess made a face, “And to give you this.”

She reached down towards him and an even greater light extended from her fingertips. “Onwards, to victory!”

_”’Come back to us soon, Jesse.”_

Jesse never actually felt the goddess’ touch, but the warmth from her light kissed his forehead and coursed through his body. He could not explain how he knew of the change, but somehow he felt more resilient.

“Thank you kindly,” He called out to the empty room. He narrowed his eyes at the stone door at the end of the hall.

Several rooms later, Jesse once again found himself outside the room that Hanzo had been guarding. Practicing his brightest of smiles, McCree pushed on through.

“Really?” Hanzo sounded incredibly unimpressed. “Again?”

“Did you like the nectar?” Jesse tipped his hat in greeting.

“I have not tried it,” Hanzo turned his head to the side and crossed his arms.

“Well, then maybe we can share the two together?” Jesse presented the Yokai with the new bottle.

“Tsch,” Hanzo spat. “Why do you bother with such empty gestures? You are leaving, are you not? Then go. Leave me be.”

“You’re standin’ in my way,” McCree reminded him.

“And no trifling gift will change that!”

“These aren’t trifles, nor are they empty gestures. Hanzo...look,” Jesse sighed. “I want you to have this.”

“And I want--”

“What, Han?” Jesse prompted, more softly. He didn’t know why, but felt as though this answer might be important.

“Tsch.” Hanzo snatched the bottle from McCree’s hands and tied it securely to his belt. Jesse brightened.

“I hope you enjoy i--oh fuck!” Jesse dove behind the nearest pillar just in time.

“This changes nothing,” Hanzo called from the opposite end of the room.

“Fine. Have it your way,” Jesse grumbled, unholstering Peacekeeper. He was met by silence, meaning likely that Hanzo had marked him again. Jesse took off his hat and held it to the left. An arrow pierced straight through it almost before he had it raised in position. McCree leaned out from behind the right of the pillar and took several shots.

Hanzo grunted and fell to one knee. Jesse winced, and fought the urge to go to him. Instead, he scrambled to duck behind cover that was closer to the tengu.

“Just let me past, Hanzo.”

“No.” A volley of arrows hit the side of the pillar, and rocks shook loose from the ceiling. Jesse ran out of the way, and took an arrow to the shoulder.

“Dammit,” he muttered, falling against the wall. He leaned his head hard to the left to dodge another arrow to the head, and rolled forward to launch another round of shots.

But Hanzo wasn’t there.

Instinctively, Jesse pointed his gun behind him without looking, just as the sharp point of an arrow pressured the back of his neck.

“How many times will it take?” Hanzo asked. His voice had lost some of its edge. McCree remembered Bastet’s words.

_”Be gentle with him.”_

“You don’t like doin’ this any more than I do, do you?” Jesse asked, turning his head slightly to look Hanzo in the eye. The bright yellow light flashed from behind Hanzo’s mask.

“No,” he answered again after some time. “I do not.”

Jesse shook his head. His heart ached, but he could not stand down. “As many times as it takes, Hanzo.”

Hanzo made an odd sound, and Jesse wasn’t sure whether it was laughter or not. It sounded resigned, regardless.

“As many times as it takes,” Hanzo repeated, pulling back on his bow. He let the arrow go.

Jesse felt the initial pain of it searing through his neck. He barely had time to register it before that same yellow light that had graced him at the start of this run returned, and both the pain and the arrow dissipated. From behind him, Jesse could feel Hanzo retract out of surprise.

“What…?”

Jesse pulled the trigger.

McCree turned again to find Hanzo grasping at his chest, kneeling in a pool of his own blood. In fact, there was blood everywhere, mostly coming from the wound, but also seeping through the walls of the chamber.

“Hanzo…” Jesse reached forward.

“Don’t,” Hanzo gasped. “I--”

The second door to the room opened, and the red waters of the Styx rushed through it, submerging Hanzo’s body before disappearing completely.

Jesse knew that he shouldn’t worry about Hanzo: he most certainly just washed up ashore in the House as he himself had done so many times before. Yet a small part of him still felt guilty. He wondered if Hanzo had felt the same when they were on opposite sides of the situation.

He also wondered how angry Hanzo would be the next time they met, if they were to meet again. The sombreness of this second thought brought him back to the fact that the second door was indeed open, and behind it was a flight of stairs leading upward to the next of the Underworld’s realms: the Asphodel Meadows.

After taking another moment to gather himself, Jesse took the stairs. The temperature seemed to climb with every step that he made upwards. He arrived at the fields of Asphodel to find a large plateau of rock, floating on a searing lake of lava. The air became thick with smoke and the smell of sulfur.

“Not exactly what I expected,” Jesse murmured to himself. He took a step forward, towards a stone barge. The rocks beneath his feet grew warmer as he neared the lava, and he suddenly realized that they were rock no more: they were literal fire.

“Oh, come on--”

_**There is no escape**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nike is the Greek goddess of victory. I've always believed that Mercy's "Winged Victory" is a Nike skin (I'm guessing they wanted to avoid copyright issues with the sports company, hence the different name).


	2. Λειμων ασφοδελον - Asphodel Fields

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse makes it to Asphodel, the second of the Underworld's realms, as he continues to struggle with questions about Hanzo and Reaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> The tags have been changed to better reflect the story: hopefully they are accurate now.
> 
> I feel bad that Hanzo gets to poof away so often, but it reflects something from the game, and I also think that if he had this ability, he would definitely overuse it >.>
> 
> Would love to hear your thoughts! <3

“I cannot say that I have gone to hell for your love but often found myself there in your pursuit.” -- Williams Carlos Williams, “Asphodel, that Greeny Flower”

\---

“You finally get to Asphodel and the first thing you do is casually _walk_ into the lava”?” Sombra just stared at Jesse as he dragged himself out of the Styx. “Like...while no wretches were around? Just because you wanted to?”

“I didn’t know it could hurt me, alright?” Jesse snapped.

“It’s _lava_.”

“And I’m a god, so fuck off.” Jesse slapped Sombra with his hat, splattering the blood all over her clothes. She was laughing too hard to answer.

Bastet cleared her throat pointedly as he walked past. Jesse blinked at her, not understanding. She nodded towards the lounge. Hanzo was seated alone, and his mask was placed beside the drink he was currently nursing. The shades in the area were giving him a wide berth.

“Do you remember what I taught you? About words?” Bastet asked finally, seeing that Jesse was frozen in place--stuck between panic and the desire to do everything at once.

The question shook McCree back to the present. He nodded. “That they have power. They can be the key. Just need to find the right way of puttin’ ‘em together.”

“That much is true,” Bastet nodded. “But this rule applies to all of us, and the words are not only for you to find. Perhaps the Fates have not yet gifted the one to whom you speak with the right key. Until then, you can only give him the space to search.”

“Think I understand,” Jesse nodded.

“Then what are you waiting for?” she smiled fondly at him.

“Oh. Right!” Jesse tipped his hat at her in thanks.

He sprinted into his room to smooth his hair quickly in front of the mirror and to another bottle of nectar from under his bed. He brushed the dust off the bottle hastily with his sleeve before running into the hall again, only slowing his speed once he’d reached the lounge entrance.

He stepped up beside Hanzo carefully, knowing full well that the Tengu likely still had his full arsenal with him inside the House.

“Hey,” he tried.

“Hmph.” Hanzo made no other acknowledgement of his arrival. Jesse’s heart sank just a little, but he wasn’t one to give up easy.

“If it makes you feel any better, you’re still ahead in the count,” he offered along with a small smile.

“Had I known that you possessed the blessings of Nike, I would have attacked differently,” Hanzo huffed, taking a sip of his beverage.

“Of course,” Jesse acknowledged, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck. “Hey, just so you know there’s no hard feelings…” He placed the new bottle of nectar on the table.

Hanzo finally turned to face him.

“You can’t do this,” The Daitengu said flatly. “I know that you intend to leave. Your momentary feelings of guilt do not erase that.”

“It’s not guilt! Well. It’s not only guilt,” Jesse confessed.

Hanzo snorted into his drink, but refused to look at him once more.

“It’s just...we’ve been through so much together, Hanzo. I wouldn’t want to trade that for anything else,” Jesse explained, his face growing warm even though he wasn’t the one doing the drinking.

“Except escape?” Hanzo retorted.

“No.” Jesse shook his head. “Not even that. I wouldn’t ever wanna give up the friendship that we have, Han.”

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say, although Jesse couldn’t quite figure out why. Hanzo was gripping his drink so hard that the glass threatened to crack under the pressure.

“ _Had,_ ” he muttered through clenched teeth.

That one word hit Jesse in the heart with truer aim than any arrow Hanzo could have fired.

“If you insist,” Jesse gave ground, knowing that he had no right to dictate what Hanzo was or was not feeling. “But I’ve not changed my mind ‘bout it. Have you?”

In response, Hanzo’s glass burst into a hundred shards in his grasp.

“I have work to do.” The tengu disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Hanzo--goddammit,” Jesse muttered to himself, slamming a fist to the table. Now that Hanzo was gone, the shades around him began to take up space again, albeit cautiously. As one drifted close beside him, causing Jesse to look down for the first time, he noticed that the bottle of nectar he had left there for Hanzo was also gone.

\---

It was some time before Jesse thought himself ready to try again. Once again, he shot through the rooms of Tartarus with barely any trouble. Once again, he arrived at that stone door. McCree already had the bottle of nectar in hand when it opened.

“Greetings.”

Jesse’s face fell.

“Rude.” Hanzo’s younger brother sliced swiftly at the air with his katana. “I should kill you extra for that slight. Also, ew.”

“It ain’t like that,” Jesse rolled his eyes.

“Oh? Then that nectar actually _is_ for me?” Genji nodded towards the glass bottle that Jesse was cradling close to his body. “Thought so,” he hummed when McCree did not reply.

“I give nectar to my friends all the time,” Jesse insisted.

“You have never once given me anything,” Genji retorted.

“It’s a new thing I’m tryin’!”

Genji held out his hand again, expectantly, bursting into laughter when Jesse just held the bottle closer.

“Fine. I get it. Not for me.”

“Where is Hanzo anyway?” McCree tried to keep his voice neutral.

“I decided to give him a break,” The blue Tengu replied as he readied himself in a fighting stance.

Jesse’s fingers instinctively twitched for Peacekeeper, but he didn’t draw just quite yet. “Gabe said that Hanzo was workin’ for him. Does the same go for you?”

“Long have my brother and I been at your father’s command,” Genji swiped the air sharply again. “My brother to atone for fratricide, and I, I’ve been told, to atone for being a little shit.”

“That I can believe,” Jesse muttered to himself. “Listen, Genj, I don’t wanna fight you.”

“And yet you will have to.” Genji’s voice lost some of its mirth. “I cannot allow you to leave.”

“Because Lord Gabriel says so?” McCree taunted.

“Yes,” Genji acknowledged. “And because every time my brother returns to the House after fighting you, whether he wins or loses, he looks as though his heart is breaking.”

Jesse did not have an answer to that revelation, nor did he have time to process one: Genji dashed at him with full force. McCree held up Peacekeeper to meet his blade just in time, and put all of his weight into pushing Genji back.

Genji jumped high in the air and landed after a graceful backflip.

“Showoff,” Jesse huffed.

“If you smoked less, perhaps you’d be able to do the same,” Genji smirked as he threw a round of shuriken in McCree’s general direction.

Jesse rolled away to dodge. “Naw, that type of agility’s not in my wheelhouse.”

He stood and squinted, opening fire at the Tengu. Genji cleared the room with a single dash--Jesse wasn’t even able to graze him.

“Pity.” The words were whispered directly into Jesse’s right ear. Genji was somehow right behind him.

“Oh for fuck’s sak--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

“Ran you straight through, huh?” Sombra shot him a look of feigned sympathy.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Jesse asked, exasperated.

“Anything better? Yes. Anything more entertaining? Eh.”

“I’m gonna tell Lord Gabriel his choice in staff is clearly lacking,” Jesse shot back.

“Sure. But maybe wait a lil’, you know?” Sombra smiled sweetly at him, waving at him with her purple nails.

“Wha--” The air seemed to waver around him, and for just a split second, the entire room tinted purple. Jesse caught sight of his arm just as the light faded, and was shocked to find that he could see right through it. “Sombra…”

“Thank me later,” she cooed before disappearing.

“What does that...oh.” Jesse looked further down the hall to see Hanzo in conversation with Reaper. He walked cautiously past a couple of shades who did not scramble to get out of his way as they normally would.

“Huh.” Jesse continued forward until he was right beside Hanzo. Neither Hanzo nor his father acknowledged him at all.

“Lord Reaper?” Hanzo asked instead with a courteous bow. “A word.”

“Approach,” Reaper grumbled. It looked like he knew all too well what the elder Shimada brother wanted to talk about, and was none too happy about it.

Hanzo took several steps forward.

“I have long appreciated the generosity that you have extended to my family, and will continue to serve until this debt is repaid…”

“But?” Lord Gabriel prompted restlessly.

“But I can no longer accept the task of keeping your son in the Underworld.”

Jesse peered at him, shocked, and just a little bit hurt. Did Hanzo really want to be rid of him so completely?

Reaper put down his quill and stood to look down at Hanzo over his immense desk. He gathered shadows to his form that billowed around him, increasing his size immensely. “Cannot, or will not?”

Hanzo did not flinch, to Gabriel’s apparent amusement.

“Cannot. I have been…”

“Kid, if you are about to say ‘compromised’, I swear…”

“No!” Hanzo’s eyes widened. Despite being naturally red, somehow, he managed to turn even more crimson. “That is, we have not had that type of relations--”

“I wasn’t talking about ‘that type of relations’,” Reaper snorted.

“I do not sound like that,” Hanzo snapped before remembering himself. “What I mean is that...I cannot defeat him.”

Then, more softly: “I cannot hurt him anymore.”

Jesse didn’t realize he was reaching out for Hanzo until his fingers were nearly at Hanzo’s shoulder. He drew them back with a start.

Reaper stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of Hanzo. Hanzo frowned at the proximity, but once again, did not shy away. The Lord of the Underworld peered at the Daitengu, trying to figure out something that Jesse himself could not discern.

“Very well,” Reaper waved his hand and in a puff of smoke, reappeared behind his desk. He picked up his quill again and continued with his parchmentwork.

“What?” Hanzo blinked.

“You will no longer be summoned to deal with the ingrate.”

Hanzo continued to stand before him, at a loss for words.

“There is more than one way that you might keep him here, after all,” Reaper added after some time. “Dismissed.”

Hanzo bowed again and took his leave.

Finding no reason to linger, Jesse also left for his room. He walked towards the exit portal yet again, turning over the exchange in his head as he did so.

In all the time that they had known each other, Jesse had never heard Hanzo back down from something that was asked of him. Duty had commanded Hanzo to murder his brother, an act that he had distinctly felt for ages afterward, and had only recently begun to make amends for. Perhaps he had learned from this mistake? And did not want to bear the duty of killing such a close friend?

For the first time, describing Hanzo as his “friend” didn’t quite feel right to Jesse. He had reached the gate yet again though, and had to turn his focus on the battles ahead. Only now, in front of the portal to Tartarus, did he realize that he had not brought any nectar with him, perhaps subconsciously seeing no point.

As soon as Jesse touched down on the other side of the gates, he was greeted once again by the shimmering bell--more musical now than before.

“Huh. In the name of Reaper, I accept this message!”

The light that fell from above emanated a soft green glow.

“Hi!” A cheerful voice greeted him as a bright figure emerged, dressed in loose gold robes. A bright yellow gem shone brightly from the gold crown that nestled in his bright green and yellow hair. “Jesse right? Good to finally meet ya!”

“A star…?” Jesse guessed.

“A star of light, at your service!” Lucio continued, unable to hear Jesse’s reply. “The fastest and the brightest. Listen, it’s kinda hard to hear you from here, so I’ll be quick: get up here soon, okay? We’re all rootin’ for you.”

_”We’re all rootin’ for you.”_

Jesse blinked as the light intensified. A song brushed past him, through him, one that sounded at once new and familiar--one that felt like home.

“Well, that’ll do fine,” he murmured as he strode towards Tartarus once more.

\---

“What did you say to him?” Genji asked without preamble when the dragon doors opened again.

“To who?” Jesse asked.

“You know who,” Genji threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “I’ve been told I’m on permanent detail in this room. Wait.” He raised a hand. “What did _he_ say to you?”

“You’re takin’ an unhealthy interest in this situation, Genj,” Jesse raised a hand to rub at the paint forming right behind his temple.

“If by ‘situation’ you mean your relationship with my brother, then I suppose ‘unhealthy’ is accurate,” Genji grumbled. “Why are you trying to escape anyway?”

“Lookin’ for answers I can’t find here.” Jesse lowered Peacekeeper. “Don’t you ever wonder about who my father’s really fightin’ for? Why he’s all the way down here while the ones who Watch Over ain’t?”

Genji shrugged. “He drew the short end of the stick when they were giving out domains.”

“But the way he and the Olympians talk ‘bout each other,” Jesse argued. “Somethin’ ain’t right.”

Genji hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose I have not given it much thought, as he has never asked anything of me that I’ve found to be questionable.”

“He ordered you to kill me,” Jesse complained, only half-joking.

“Yes, but you have it coming,” Genji laughed. “I am sorry, but I do not have the answers that you seek, my friend. You might ask yourself though why it matters to you so much if you yourself have not been commanded against your will. Perhaps, you are still asking the wrong question.”

Just as Jesse was about to reply, he caught a glint of metal in Genji’s hand. He dodged the shurikens before they could embed themselves in his chest.

“Goddammit, can’t y’all just fight in the open?” McCree grumbled from behind a pillar.

“We’re _ninjas_ ,” Genji called back with too much amusement.

Jesse felt the hair on his neck prickle, and ducked just in time to keep his head. Genji propelled himself backwards in a high leap and landed gracefully, his fingers touching the floor in front of him to brace himself as he drew his sword behind him.

“However, if that is the way you would like to die, I am happy to oblige.” Genji took several steps to gain momentum and dragged the tip of his sword on the stone ground, creating a line of sparks with the friction. He gained speed and full-on dashed towards McCree.

Knowing full well that Genji would just dodge a straight-ahead shot, Jesse did the next best thing that came to mind: he ran.

More accurately, he _outran_ Genji for the first time in his life, as the blessing offered by the star kicked in without warning.

“What the fuck?” Genji sputtered. He increased his speed.

They ran around the room for several minutes, Jesse just barely dodging Genji’s slashes every time.

McCree knew that this couldn’t last forever though, and that he would need to time his next move just right. He waited until they were rounding a corner: instead of running around the pillar in front of him, he dashed up it, and landed behind Genji. The Tengu stopped at exactly the wrong moment. Jesse fired.

“Ungh!” Genji grasped at his chest, more in surprise that the shot had landed than to stop the blood.

“I’m sorry, Genji,” Jesse winced, genuinely a bit upset at the sight of his friend and the wound he had caused.

“Well played,” Genji gasped out a short laugh. “I need to...have a talk...with...Lucio.”

The second door to the chamber once again opened, the Styx once again flooded in, and Genji was gone.

Jesse took a moment before taking the first barge in Asphodel, the consequences of the battle and of moving preternaturally fast finally catching up with him. He knew that time was unlikely to improve his condition after a certain amount of rest though. Carefully stepping onto the barge so as to avoid the lava this time, Jesse braced himself for that which waited for him on the other side.

His destination looked much the same as his point of entry: lava as far as he could see, crumbling stalagmites piercing through the rock floor that was barely holding together in some places.

“Alright, who’s first?” He called into the oppressively heavy air. Once again, he was not expecting the reply.

_“I thought I might find you here.”_

“I thought I might find you here.” The voice echoed across the flat, rocky expanse of the Meadows miraculously, and appeared before its owner, as was often the case with the Underworld gods. It was oppressively loud, and the weight of it pressed painfully against Jesse’s temple. “Although, to be perfectly honest, I’m surprised you’re still alive.”

Jesse shook off the momentary headache and instead felt his heart rise to his throat in a way that was becoming far too familiar. Hanzo arrived in a puff of red smoke, arms crossed.

“Aren’t you in the wrong plane?” He asked.

“My work takes me across all of Lord Gabriel’s realms.” Hanzo kicked at a magma bubble over which he was hovering.

“Oh.” Jesse tried not to let his disappointment show. Perhaps Hanzo had reconsidered after his discussion with Reaper, and had decided that he could fight McCree after all. Jesse spun Peacekeeper to reload and released the safety.

“Not that I only travel for work,” Hanzo added, eyeing the weapon.

“Oh?” Jesse looked up cautiously. “Why are you here then?”

All around them, the first wave of Asphodel wretches manifested. Hanzo drew his first arrow, and aimed its point at the nearest wretch. The muscles in his shoulder and forearm flexed impressively from the effort. Jesse could already picture him smirking from behind the mask.

“To show you how it’s done.”

Jesse swallowed hard, not knowing how he managed to feel even _hotter_ than when he first arrived at the Meadows.

The arrow hit the gorgon right between the eyes, and Hanzo had another loaded before the disembodied head hit the ground. McCree was falling behind.

He turned and fired several quick shots at a pillar, which crumbled instantly, taking several wretches with it.

“Hmph,” Hanzo snorted. He loaded four arrows at once, and each found its mark.

They fell in tandem almost instantly, as their weapons themselves remembered a time when they fought together, not against. It felt so familiar, so _right_ , that when the last wretch exploded in a burst of green, it made everything feel even more acutely _wrong_.

Hanzo disappeared, leaving only a cloud of red smoke behind. He seemed to reconsider moments later, and reappeared again by the next barge.

“Thanks for the help,” Jesse reached out his hand awkwardly, only to retract it again when he couldn’t figure out what part of Hanzo to touch. “Won’t you get in trouble for this though?”

“You are worried for me?” Hanzo barked a laugh. “I thought you didn’t concern yourself with the welfare of others.”

“Hey now, that’s unfair,” McCree frowned. “Of course I worry about you. I will always worry about you.”

“Why?” Hanzo asked the question so abruptly, it seemed to surprise even himself.

As Jesse opened his mouth to answer, the words once again stuck in his throat. He grasped frantically at them, as they scattered into the air, unheard. McCree could only stare helplessly at Hanzo.

Hanzo scowled. “Forget I asked.”

“Hanzo--wait!” Jesse called out to the empty plains as his voice returned just a moment too late.

To say that McCree was upset would have been understatement. To say that he was distracted, would have been accurate.

“What? Where did that even come fr--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

Jesse returned to the house more dejected than usual. He was more upset that his inability to reply to Hanzo properly than at being thrown back into the House once more. How ironic that one who sought answers with such fervor could not properly provide them himself.

“It was a rough run, wasn’t it?”

Jesse approached Bastet, and tipped his hat.

“Got as far as I ever did though.”

“I was not referring to distance,” she shook her head. “I meant for the both of you.”

She nodded again towards the lounge where, to Jesse’s surprise, Hanzo once again sat, drink in hand.

“Not so sure he wants to talk to me right now,” Jesse confessed.

“Habibi, please,” Bastet chuckled. “Would you be able to find him if he didn’t?”

“...oh...yeah.” Jesse felt foolish for not seeing it before.

He hastily made his way to his room again to make sure that he looked somewhat presentable. When he got there, he found a bottle of nectar on his desk.

“Huh. Thank the gods, I suppose,” Jesse murmured, turning the vessel in his hand thoughtfully. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he walked towards the lounge.

Once again, the shades were giving Hanzo his space, and once again, Hanzo ignored his entrance.

“Howdy,” Jesse offered.

“Are you finally done this time?” Hanzo asked without meeting his eyes. “With running away from yourself? From who you are?”

“You’re probably right in that’s what I’ve been doin’,” Jesse smiled ruefully. “But I need to be clear. Whatever runnin’ I’ve been doin’, it’s never been from you.”

Hanzo’s hand froze, his glass still midair.

“You--”

Jesse waited.

“You keep saying these things,” Hanzo finally managed, lowering his glass to the table. “And you keep bringing me these…”

Jesse took the opportunity to hand him the bottle of nectar.

“These!” Hanzo gestured towards it. He grit his teeth, struggling to form his question. “What exactly am I to make of this? Are we just friends or...just what am I to you?”

_“Just what am I to you?”_

The question rang so loudly in Jesse’s ears that his head began to hurt.

These were the words he had been waiting for: this was the question that he had failed to answer so many times previously. The response was now as clear to him as the waters of the Lethe, but facing the prospect of speaking the words out loud terrified him.

He took a deep breath.

“I’m just tryin’ to show you...” Jesse began slowly. “...I like you, Han.”

_”I like you, Han.”_

Jesse shuddered as his own words reverberated through his very being. As soon as the words existed, Jesse knew that they were right, and yet, there came this small, insistent feeling at the back of his throat--one that suggested he wasn’t done.

“You…” Somehow, Hanzo’s ears managed to turn even more red. “I would have guessed differently, given some of your more recent decisions.”

“I never wanted to leave you, Hanzo,” Jesse shook his head, feeling once again that warmth in his own face. Why was this so hard? “If you don’t feel the same way, then that’s fine, but I’d rather know. It’d be okay, of course but--”

“I never...you…” Hanzo sputtered. Around them, the shades began to exit the room as the Yokai’s aura began to fill it. Jesse stood his ground. The energy crackled through the air, and crescendoed until it disappeared completely.

“I have work to do.” The sentence was barely complete before Hanzo disappeared once again, taking the bottle of nectar with him.

Jesse was left alone in the lounge with the weight of the words that he had just spoken.

“Bartender? Can I get one of what he had? Actually, better make it two.”

The bartender handed him the drinks, and refused to accept payment.

\---

It took several more tries, but Jesse was finally able to kick Genji’s ass again. Asphodel was getting easier too--the wretches, while numerous, were predictable. Jesse learned to dodge their basic attacks, and finally gained the upper hand. Still though, Jesse had been struggling with the past few rooms. When the bell tolled, signalling Hanzo’s arrival, he breathed an unconscious sigh of relief.

“It looks like I’ve arrived just in time,” Hanzo looked down at him disdainfully as though their previous conversation hadn’t happened.

“I’d probably survive,” Jesse shrugged, but was smiling, just happy that he had finally reappeared at all. “Probably.”

“Unlikely,” Hanzo drew his bow as the wretches began to appear.

They cleared the room with some effort, once again falling into step the minute the battle began.

“Whew.” Jesse wiped his brow. He kicked away some gravel and something caught his eye. Reaching down, he retrieved a full bottle of ambrosia. “Huh. The good stuff.”

Hanzo had once again disappeared and reappeared near the exit. He seemed to be waiting for him.

“I wanna apologize, Hanzo, for the last time,” Jesse began.

“There is nothing to apologize for,” Hanzo shook his head.

“I coulda said it better,” Jesse disagreed. “It’s just...I don’t ever know where I stand with you.”

“Is it not clear?” Hanzo turned fully to face him.

“What. I’m sorry, Hanzo, but...no.” Jesse blinked at him.

“I defied your father, Lord of the Underworld, to whom I owe a great debt,” Hanzo took a step forward. “Instead of stopping you, I am _aiding_ you. Worst of all, I have been putting up with Genji’s incessant _teasing_.”

Jesse chuckled at that. “Worse than a thousand deaths, that’s for certain. Look, I know that’s all been difficult for you, and…I appreciate that you would come to save lil’ ol’ me when you don’t really want to...”

“Don’t really _want to_?” Hanzo exploded, his voice echoing through the flat fields. “You _idiot_. I risk everything and you think it’s because I don’t _want to_? I follow you this far, and it is still _not clear_ where I stand?!”

_”I follow you this far, and it is still not clear where I stand?!”_

The echo verberated straight through to Jesse’s bones, resounding through his head until it hurt.

Hanzo was right. He was an idiot.

McCree stood frozen in front of Hanzo, unsure of whether he was about to receive an arrow to the head or a violent kiss on the lips. Belatedly, he realized that he was still holding the ambrosia. “Do you want th--”

“Yes, I will take that now,” Hanzo snatched the bottle from Jesse’s hands before teleporting away without another word.

A few more rooms later, Jesse realized that while he had gotten the hang of the regular wretches of Asphodel, he was not yet accustomed to its sentient polybolos.

“Boo doo boo doo!”

“What the hell even is th--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

Jesse trudged through the bloodied hallway of the House yet again. As far as encounters with Hanzo went, Jesse wasn’t sure that the last one went badly--their feelings for each other were clearer now, at least.

Hanzo wasn’t in the lounge, to McCree’s disappointment, but Jesse figured it was for the best: they could both use some time to figure out exactly what to do from here.

“Did I not tell you, kid? The only thing you will find in the Underworld is death.”

Jesse heaved a sigh, and doubled back towards Reaper’s desk.

“That’s why I’m leavin’,” he replied impatiently. “Because if there are answers, then they sure as hell ain’t here. There’s only death.”

“Answers,” Lord Gabriel snorted. “You expect them to have answers for you? The mortals? Or perhaps, those who Watch Over them?”

“Won’t know ‘til I ask,” Jesse shrugged.

“Let me save you the trouble,” Reaper growled. “They do not. The shades that arrive here know no more than when they left. The gods are too preoccupied with their own agendas and their infighting to care about your _answers._ ”

“The ones I’ve spoken to seem nice enough,” Jesse retorted.

“You’ve spoken to them?” Reaper leaned forward, eyes narrowing.

“They seem to think there’s a place for me in Olympus,” Jesse pressed. “Watchin’ over for once, instead of lurking in the shadows.”

“Ha!” Lord Gabriel’s laughter held no real humour. “You’d never survive their brand of bureaucracy. They are petty, weak-hearted...nothing like you.”

Jesse tilted his head upward at the rare compliment.

“They would eat you alive with their rules and their rumors.”

“You’ve got your fair share of rules down here too,” Jesse reminded him.

“My rules are nothing like theirs,” Gabriel snorted. “Mine maintain order. Theirs maintain ideals. And ideals can be manipulated.”

“Your ‘order’ sounds a lot like an ideal in itself,” Jesse argued. “And just because you don’t agree with their ideals doesn’t mean those ideas ain’t worth havin’.”

“Hmph,” Reaper turned his attention back to his work. “You don’t get to be my age, doing what I do, without learning about pragmatism. Without seeing through the lies. Let them have their ‘Truth’. Let them fight for ‘Justice’. They don’t even know the meaning of the words that they’re fighting for. We will always be the ones that keep their worlds running, just beneath them, in the darkness. In the Black.”

“But don’t we want the same things?” Jesse asked, exasperated. “Why must it be us and them?”

“Is that what you really want to know?” Reaper raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. No. Ugh.”

Why was this so hard?

“If you are not finding the answers you seek, then you’re still not asking the right questions, kid,” Reaper stood and a black cloud began to swirl around him. His last words echoed through the hall long after he had disappeared.

_“Come back when you’ve figured it out.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A polybolos is as close as I could get to an ancient Greek Bastion-type weapon:  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybolos
> 
> Lucio is wearing his Pacific All-Stars Skin:  
> https://images.app.goo.gl/1S3CDWHKNS1sdwxD6


	3. Πεδιον Ηλυσιον, αὐτίτης - Elysian Fields, Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse makes it to the Elysian Fields for the first time, and meets someone who may lead him to the answers that he needs. Conversations with Reaper and Hanzo escalate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> Things get a bit more serious here. I've split Elysium into two chapters, as this one is fairly long and involved. I hope that things still make sense at this point, and would love to hear your thoughts if you had the time! <3

”and from these come into being august monarchs, and men who are swift in strength and supreme in wisdom; and, for all future time, men call them sainted heroes” -- Pindar, _Dirges Fragment 133_

\---

A few runs later, Jesse finally managed to outlive the polybolos. It wasn’t pretty, but with Lucio’s help, he managed to run circles around the weapon until they got dizzy, and landed several lucky shots.

Hanzo hadn’t appeared again since their last conversation in the lounge, and McCree was beginning to worry. Genji was of no help on this issue; besides, Jesse was pretty sure that not even he could have found his brother if Hanzo did not want to be found.

And so McCree continued forward, repeatedly, with the foolish hope that Hanzo would be behind every new door that opened in Tartarus, or on every new shore in Asphodel.

As the doors opened for him to the Elysian Fields for the very first time, Jesse began to feel Hanzo’s absence all the more. The calm, cool breeze, the gentle glow of some light that wasn’t quite Helios’ chariot but sure felt like it, the crisp fresh air--even though he was a trespasser, Jesse wanted to share this sudden feeling of serenity with Hanzo. Certainly, after all they had been through, they deserved it. Certainly, they had earned some peace.

After his arrival in the first encounter glade, Jesse began to miss Hanzo even more. The former heroes and warriors of Elysium were _much_ better in battle than any of the wretches he had encountered before--worse, they could regenerate if Jesse did not pay them enough heed.

McCree barely managed to clear the first two rooms, and had to take a moment to catch his breath before heading into the third.

The next chamber was relatively still--Jesse braced himself for another wave of combatants that did not come. Instead, he was met by a quiet voice spoken at such a low volume that the shade must have been speaking to himself.

“...Why was I brought here, to be left alone? Where did you go... what did you do?”

Jesse kept Peacekeeper locked and loaded, just in case, as he cautiously approached the shade.

The Soldier was dressed in blue, much like the other Elysian heroes. His clothing was of an odd style: his tunic fit his form almost perfectly, and he wore dark blue coverings around his legs. A long blue cloak splayed carelessly on the green grass behind him where he sat. His blond hair was cut short--even shorter than Jesse’s.

“Howdy.” McCree tipped his hat.

“Keep walking, stranger,” The shade muttered with no bite. “There are plenty of others here that will go to war with you.”

“Not lookin’ to fight any of them,” Jesse replied with his friendliest tone. “Only lookin’ to make it to the surface. They just happen to be standin’ in my way.”

“Well, I won’t,” The shade shrugged. “Pass on through.”

“What’s your name, sir?” McCree stopped in front of the Soldier, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Names are much like heroes,” The shade replied. “Both meant to be forgotten.”

“That’s not it at all.” Jesse shook his head. “I mean, that’s what Elysium is, isn’t it? A place to remember and honour--”

“Then why does the Lethe run through it?” The Soldier interrupted. “Why are heroes offered its waters before entering?”

Jesse had no answer to that.

The Soldier shook his head. “You don’t get to Elysium without your share of things you want to forget. We’re preserved here, our stories and ideals embalmed for the sake of others, not ourselves.”

“Ideals,” Jesse murmured, reminded of his most recent conversation with his father. “What were your ideals, soldier?”

“None that matter,” The shade shook his head. “Everything still fell apart, in the end. Now please, leave me be. You might as well take this though. I’ve little use for it.”

Jesse took the hint, and the gyro, and went on his way.

\---

“Bastet?” Jesse approached the goddess right away after an untimely death at the wheels of some giant chariots sent him back to the House again. “What do you know of the Soldier?”

Bastet tilted her head. “So you have encountered him, have you? I had wondered if you would.”

“On this past run, yeah,” Jesse nodded.

“If you are asking for details about his life, I’m afraid you will have to ask him yourself,” Bastet answered. “It is not my place to betray the secrets of the dead. I can tell you though that he was a great leader and warrior in his day. And that he is currently trapped in Elysium.”

“That’s an odd way of puttin’ it.” Jesse frowned. “‘Trapped’ is kind of a strong word for eternal paradise, ain’t it?”

“Yes,” Bastet replied slowly, as though she were trying to find the best way to explain. “But that is the truth nonetheless. He feels undeserving of the honour.”

“How would he have gotten there if he didn’t deserve to be there?” Jesse wondered.

“You would be surprised at how many in Elysium feel the same,” Bastet said with something like sadness in her eyes. “You remember the Rule of the House?”

“That ‘there’s no escape’?” Jesse asked with a snort. ”Yeah, I’ve heard that a couple o’ times.”

“The Rule applies to mortals in life as well as in death. Any problems that they encounter in life, and to be truly fair, any of the triumphs and loves, come with them to the Underworld. There is no escape from any of these things,” Bastet regarded him closely. “Do you understand, habibi? Death is just another world in which these fragments from a shade’s life persist, another world where resolution might be found or frustrated. The shades are haunted by their deeds in death just as in life.”

“I think I get it,” Jesse nodded, even though something about this explanation didn’t sit quite right still. “But that doesn’t really explain why he’s trapped, does it?”

Bastet shook her head. “No it does not. But I cannot provide you with the true reason. That you must discover for yourself.”

\---

With some time, Jesse was able to find his way to the Soldier’s corner of Elysium once more. Once again, he was talking to himself when McCree arrived.

“When we were both alive, I... thought you were invincible. I knew of no one, nothing stronger, other than the love we shared.”

“Who are you talking about?” Jesse asked as he approached.

“It’s rude to listen in on the conversation of others,” The Soldier frowned at him.

“But you’re not really talkin’ to anyone,” Jesse pointed out.

“Still rude,” Soldier grumbled. “Why have you taken such an interest in me, anyway? Very few come by more than once.”

“Yeah, I wonder why,” Jesse muttered.

“What was that?” Soldier asked sharply.

“Nothin’,” Jesse replied with a shrug. “I just thought you were sittin’ here by yourself and...you looked kinda lonely.”

“That’s by choice,” The Soldier scoffed.

“Is it?” Jesse pressed. “‘Cause it sure sounds like you’d rather be here together with someone.”

“He’s where he wants to be, I’m certain,” The Soldier shrugged. “And since where he wants to be isn’t here, then I wouldn’t want to keep him.”

“How can you be so sure though?” Jesse asked. “Where is he?”

“...I don’t know,” Soldier answered after some time. “I figured we’d arrive here together when it fell.”

“When what fell? Who were you? In life?”

“A relic before I even died,” Soldier snorted. “A monument erected by other men to stand in for Justice. I didn’t understand that they were just using me. Not until it was too late.”

Once again, the words came too close to Reaper’s for it to have been a coincidence.

“Who used you?”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Soldier groused.

“I do,” Jesse agreed. “But...maybe right now, the place I need to be is right here.”

“You sure are persistent,” Soldier rolled his eyes. “Fine, if it means you’ll leave me alone. When I was younger...alive,” he added belatedly. “I fought for what I thought was right. An organization that I thought was dedicated to maintaining justice.”

“Is that where you met him?” Jesse prompted.

“...yeah,” The Soldier answered after some time. “We joined together. Rose in the ranks. Eventually we became leaders of separate legions. But I thought that we were still on the same side.”

“He was on the other side?” Jesse asked, taking a step forward. He sat down on the grass beside the Soldier.

“Didn’t ask you to stay long enough to sit.” The Soldier eyed him warily.

“But he was on their side?” Jesse repeated.

“Yes and no, I think,” The Soldier answered reluctantly. “The organization was decaying from the inside long before it actually fell. I was just too blinded by the ideals I was fighting for to see it.”

“But he--”

“If I’ve not answered your question to your satisfaction the first two times, why would you ask it a third?” The Soldier finally snapped.

“Sorry,” Jesse stood, slightly sheepish. “I really appreciate you takin’ the time. Here, why don’t you take this?”

He handed the soldier the bottle of nectar he had been carrying around for so long now.

“Hmph. I’m not worthy of that sort of thing,” The Soldier frowned at him again.

“Well, just so happens I won the nectar fair and square, so it’s mine to give. And I choose to give it to you,” Jesse gave him a warm smile.

Soldier looked at him a moment more before accepting the gift. “Fine. Thank you. Here, take this in return.”

He splashed a cup of blood red water onto Jesse’s face.

“What...” Jesse sputtered.

“You’ll thank me in the next room,” The Soldier snorted. “Now go. I hope you find what you’re looking for, kid.”

\---

As soon as Jesse entered the next room, he felt remarkably better. This was due in part to the water from the River Styx with which the Soldier had gifted him (in retrospect, Jesse should have known that it had restorative powers), but was mostly due to Hanzo’s sudden appearance.

“I have to talk to you,” Hanzo announced without any other greeting.

“There’s nothin’ I’d like more,” Jesse replied with a wink.

Hanzo huffed from behind his mask, and turned his attention to the first wave of Elysian heroes. Between Hanzo’s help and the extra vitality granted by the Styx, the room was cleared in no time at all.

“Thank you kindly,” Jesse walked over to Hanzo as the Daitengu took down the last Exalted Greatshield. He reached into his tunic and his face fell as he realized he had given the nectar he had been safekeeping to the Soldier.

“I do not need that,” Hanzo waved it off, knowing what Jesse would offer. “I have something to say.”

“Alright, hit me with it,” Jesse smiled, hoping to dismantle some of the nerves that he could already see gathering in Hanzo’s frame.

“I realize that I do not always make myself clear,” Hanzo began. He paused, and undid the ties to his mask so that he could look at Jesse properly.

“ _Oh._ ” The sight of Hanzo’s eyes always took his breath away.

“Focus!” Hanzo commanded.

“Right. Sorry, darlin’. Please go on.” Jesse sat down on the green grass, enjoying the feel of it in his fingers. Hanzo sat down beside him.

“I do not always make myself clear, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.” This acknowledgement was clearly making Hanzo very uncomfortable, but he looked determined to continue. “But something has been weighing on me, and I would like to say it now.”

Jesse did his best to keep himself from smiling fondly at the formal preamble, knowing that Hanzo would only take offense. Instead he nodded for Hanzo to continue.

“I do not know how else to put this,” Hanzo frowned, looking down at the ground. “But...I want you to come home. Voluntarily.”

_”I want you to come home.”_

“Oh,” Jesse gaped at him. He had never heard Hanzo say anything with such earnestness before. At the same time, Jesse was crestfallen--he could tell that it was costing Hanzo greatly to say something so heartfelt, and yet, Hanzo had put him in an impossible situation--he had asked for the one thing that Jesse could not give.

“I...I can’t Hanzo. Home will never be the same for me ever again. Not until I find these answers at least. I gotta go.”

There were other words too, stuck just at the root of his tongue. While he had felt their presence in his heart before, they had never felt so close to being spoken. Jesse took a deep breath, preparing to do so, but Hanzo interrupted him.

“But your place is here.” The words hovered on Hanzo’s breath, and were barely spoken into being. Without looking up, Hanzo snatched Jesse’s hand, and drew it into his own lap.

_”Your place is here.”_

The phrase echoed through the chamber, and the repetition didn’t seem to come from Hanzo at all, although it was definitely his voice. The space right behind McCree’s temple began to throb. He closed his eyes to try to will it away. Hanzo was saying things that were far too important for him to be distracted now.

“Stay. With me.”

_Stay. With me._

The echo reverberated throughout the room, throughout Jesse’s very body. His head began to feel heavy. The pain intensified. Jesse raised a hand to his head and grit his teeth.

Hanzo looked up in alarm.

“Jesse?”

“Han, I--”

The words stuck thick in Jesse’s throat, as his desperation to speak them grew.

In front of him, Hanzo’s form split, doubled. One of the figures began to shift: his skin paled until it was almost white, and dark brown pupils took shape from behind the usual yellow glow. Both looked down at him with equal panic. Jesse squinted and the forms became one again.

“Jesse!”

McCree could feel Hanzo grasping at his shoulders, and yet the Hanzo in front of him was not doing so.

“Wha--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

“Did you just die from _embarrassment_?” Sombra stared at him in disbelief.

“Is that what that was?” Jesse asked, still dazed.

Sombra twisted her lips in what may have been worry, and looked down at the ledger again. “I don’t know. It was redacted.”

“What?!” Jesse reached for her book, but she held it just out of reach.

“Hey! Stop that!”

“How do you know I died of embarrassment then?” Jesse demanded.

Sombra shrugged. “Because of the way he came back. You might wanna talk to him. Bring a shield or something though.” She gestured towards the West Hall.

Jesse sprinted towards his bedroom first. Bastet was oddly not at her usual place beside it. Jesse did find a bottle of ambrosia once again on his desk, and wondered whether it was her doing. He grabbed it and ran towards the West Hall, ignoring whatever it was that Sombra was saying as he passed her again.

Hanzo was standing by the balcony overlooking the Styx.

“Hey!” Jesse ran to his side. “I’m real sorry about--”

“I’ve never had anyone _die_ in front of me to escape a confession before,” Hanzo cut in wryly, taking a step forward so that he would not have to look at Jesse.

“That wasn’t intentional!” Jesse shook his head vehemently, desperate for Hanzo to understand. “Hey, maybe we could try that conversation again, in a more priva--” Jesse had leaned forward and lowered his voice, and Hanzo had raised a short knife to his throat to interrupt him. McCree froze, sliding his eyes over to shoot Hanzo a pleading look.

Hanzo sighed and retracted the weapon. His posture deflated just an inch. “It was difficult. For me to approach you again. With those words.”

“I know, Han, I know,” Jesse offered apologetically. “Maybe it’s my turn.”

He reached forward tentatively to place his hand on Hanzo’s arm. Hanzo twitched at the touch, but did not move out of reach right away. He took a step back so that he could look at Jesse more fully and crossed his arms, waiting. Jesse started by handing him the bottle of ambrosia.

“Where did you even fin...thank you,” Hanzo amended, accepting the gift.

“I’m grateful that you summoned the strength to say all that,” Jesse took off his hat and held it with both hands. “Because I sure as hell couldn’t have done so. And it means a lot that you would want me to stay by your side.” He drew a long breath before the hard part. “But...I can’t stay, Hanzo.”

Hanzo’s entire frame drew stiff, but he said nothing.

“But if there’s one thing givin’ me pause, it’s you.”

“...I see,” Hanzo answered, turning his attention back to the Styx.

“I shouldn’t have left the way I did, without tellin’ you,” Jesse confessed. “But when you found me, I think that's when...that's when I knew, or started to realize, you know?”

“I...yes. I know,” Hanzo shuffled uncomfortably in place. “I think, because...when I heard you took off, the anger that I felt, it was...it wasn't something I expected.”

Hanzo was turning a darker shade of red again, and Jesse was finally able to acknowledge what he had known for a very long time: he found Hanzo to be completely breathtaking. Hanzo turned to face him once more. “So...what do we do now?”

Jesse stood at a loss. He had one immediate answer and it didn’t much involve words, but although it broke his heart, he knew that it would be unfair to Hanzo. Nothing would stop Jesse from leaving, after all. Then there were the words that Jesse had come so close to finding in Elysium. He reached for them once more, but they seemed even farther away now that they were in the House.

“Maybe we ought to take our time,” he suggested instead with some resignation. “You know what I gotta do, and it ain’t right for me to push for somethin’ that’ll just hurt you in the end. But you know where to find me. And if not...I'm grateful, anyway. To have you in my life.”

“Hmm,” Hanzo answered slowly. He did not look completely happy with this outcome either. “Very well. I...am grateful as well. To have you in my life. Take care, Jesse.”

As Hanzo disappeared, Jesse wondered, not for the first time, whether he was making a colossal mistake.

\---

“So instead of killing him, you’re _helping_ him?” Genji’s voice appeared before his body.

Hanzo did not move from his seiza position, but took a long, and steadying breath. He had found an isolated corner of Tartarus: a small plateau near the top of a craggy mountain not connected to any of the rooms, and had thought his brother smart enough to keep his distance when he so clearly wanted to be alone. As was often the case, Hanzo had overestimated Genji. “Go away.”

“You really care about him that--”

“I said go a--wait.” Hanzo turned. “Were you not summoned in my place?”

Genji frowned. “No.”

“I felt Jesse leave the House some time ago,” Hanzo furrowed his brow.

Both brothers came to the same conclusion at once.

“Oh, fuck.”

They teleported to the Great Hall without another word to each other.

\---

The shadow that greeted Jesse beyond the dragon door in Tartarus was one he had never seen. It was about a head taller than either Genji or Hanzo, and more than two arm-widths wider.

Jesse frowned and looked up directly at the figure who stood before him. The bulk of the Yokai was exactly as advertised by his shadow. His massive grey wings almost stretched the width from one column to the other. He wore a dark violet mask of a similar styling to Genji and Hanzo’s. Behind the mask, his eyes glowed with a blinding yellow light.

“Howdy,” Jesse gave the Yokai a disarming smile.

The Yokai snorted and crossed his arms in a way that reminded McCree of Hanzo completely.

“Never seen you ‘round these parts before.”

“I am not in the employment of your father,” The Daitengu rumbled. The walls shook from the booming of his voice. “Nor do I frequent his lands often.”

“So we’re not gonna have a problem here then?” Jesse tipped his hat, trying to act his most charming.

“But he is a...friend,” The Tengu continued as though Jesse had not spoken at all. “And I am what you might call a Fury still.”

“Ah.” Jesse reached for Peacekeeper. He knew that would have been too lucky, even for him.

“And of course, Gabriel mentioned that you had eyes for my son.”

Oh fuck.

“...so. You’re.” Jesse tugged at the handkerchief around his neck. It felt as though the full heat of Asphodel had somehow come to Tartarus.

“My greatest sin is betraying the love of my sons. For allowing honour and selfishness to cloud my judgement.” The Daitengu rolled his muscular shoulders back, and settled into a fighting stance. “I now spend eternity punishing those who would do the same.”

“Did you mean punishing those who betray your sons, or betray others in general, because that sentence made it sound like--hey look, that doesn’t really matter,” Jesse rambled on as the enormous Yokai took a full step forward and huffed a quick breath of air that sounded dangerously like a growl. “Sir, I promise I’ve no intenti---”

“Of course not,” The Daitengu barked a short laugh. “I did not either, and yet here we are. Let us call this a preemptive visit. A warning, if you will.”

“It wouldn’t be fair for me to attack an unarm--” Jesse tried, taking several steps back.

“I assure you,” The Yokai took several slow, menacing steps forward to make up the distance. “That will not be a problem. Begin!”

Jesse was quick to realize that the fight was indeed not a problem at all: not for Hanzo’s father, at least.

“Ow ow ow--”

_**There is no escape**_

\---

Jesse emerged from the mouth of the river coughing, bleeding, beaten and sore like he hadn’t been in a long time.

Sombra whistled long and low as he passed. “That must have been some shovel talk.”

“Shut up,” Jesse snapped.

“Did Sojiro treat you well?” Gabriel called from his desk.

“You shut up too!” McCree glared at him.

The death knell had barely finished sounding before both Hanzo and Genji appeared in front of him in clouds of smoke. They took one look at him and winced.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Jesse insisted, just before stumbling to his knees onto the carpet. Hanzo rushed forward to steady him.

“I see you met our father, then.” Genji sounded far too amused for Jesse’s liking.

“Yeah.”

“Can you stand?” Hanzo threw one of Jesse’s arms over his own shoulder and attempted to lift him. Jesse yelped in pain.

“Ouch,” Genji cringed again. He moved to help. “Anija, grab his--alright then, nevermind.” Genji interrupted himself as Hanzo lifted Jesse fully into his arms, bridal style, with seemingly no effort. Genji threw a small bottle at Jesse. It was lubricant.

“You little shi--”

Genji disappeared in a cloud of green smoke before Hanzo could finish.

“Uh...Hanzo, you don’t really gotta do this…”

“Silence,” Hanzo barked. His mask was on, but Jesse could sense the face he was making behind it and it wasn’t to be challenged. Hanzo likely hadn’t considered the full consequences of his lifting Jesse fully in his arms. Having committed to it, his pride would not let him back down. Jesse tilted his hat down to cover his face, trying to ignore the laughter that was echoing all around him.

Bastet tsked at him affectionately as they walked past.

Once they were safely in his room, Hanzo dropped him unceremoniously on his bed, causing a whole host of aches and pains to return.

“Ow.”

“Apologies,” Hanzo said sheepishly as he sat down on the bed beside Jesse. “Do you have a potion for the pain? Not that you would be able to find it in this mess.”

“I happen to know where everything in this room is,” Jesse protested. He sat up with some effort and rummaged in a pile of clothes beside his bed. “Like this!”

Hanzo looked at the ambrosia with disbelief. “Really? Right now?”

“No better time,” Jesse grinned.

Hanzo rolled his eyes and accepted the gift.

All of a sudden, they both became uncomfortably aware of how alone they were. In Jesse’s bedroom. On Jesse’s bed.

“So uh...thanks for getting me here,” Jesse rubbed at the back of his neck.

Hanzo stood up abruptly. “It was no trouble. I suppose I shall take my leave.”

“Yeah, thanks again,” Jesse mumbled towards his blanket.

Hanzo paused at the entrance, and clenched his fists.

“Is there….somethin’ else you wanna talk about?” Jesse asked cautiously.

“No,” Hanzo answered immediately. Jesse raised an eyebrow.

“I…” Hanzo hesitated again. He turned fully again to face McCree. “Did you mean what you had said before? That we ought to...take our time?”

Jesse looked at him wearily. “I just...don’t want to push you, Han. I know that this is a lot, and I know that my wantin’ to leave complicates things. I just mean that this isn’t one of those impulsive things for me. I’ll wait for you however long it takes.”

“Hmph.” Hanzo’s entire mask began to glow, as the light from his eyes intensified. “You have no concept of which impulses to act upon, and which to keep in check. You wish to wait, and yet...I am right here, am I not?”

“ _Oh_.” It was Jesse’s turn to go bright red. He chuckled nervously. “Yeah, that you are. So…”

“Oh, blood and darkness,” Hanzo muttered, throwing his mask to the floor and stomping towards the bed again. His robes joined it as he undid his rope belt with a single motion.

Jesse’s jaw would have hit the floor next, had Hanzo not literally pounced on him so that he fell back against the bed, and captured his lips in a searing kiss.

\---

Much, much later, Jesse woke to find himself face down on a moving pillow. Pleased, he snuggled more deeply against Hanzo’s chest.

“You are so warm,” Hanzo complained. He did not move away though, which allowed Jesse to press even more insistently against his body. Hanzo sighed in mock frustration and snaked an arm around Jesse’s waist, holding him close.

They lay together in perfect content before the uncertainty of the moment finally began to settle in. Jesse could pinpoint exactly when it happened: while Hanzo did not shrink away, his body drew stiff.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Jesse asked, kissing Hanzo gently over the heart in reassurance.

“You have never told me. Perhaps because I have never asked,” Hanzo started. He shifted so that he could look Jesse in the eye. “What is it exactly that you’re looking for? What is it that the surface has to offer that the Underworld does not?”

_”What is it that you’re looking for?”_

A sharp pain stabbed at the space right behind Jesse’s eyes. He winced, but just as quick, the feeling subsided.

“Answers about my father’s allegiances.” Jesse pressed more fully into the pillow in an attempt to muffle the ache completely.

“His allegiances?” Hanzo tilted his head. “He seems dedicated to maintaining the current order instead of disrupting it.”

“But somethin’ about how he doesn’t get along with Olympus don’t sit right,” Jesse insisted. For the first time though, that answer did not seem complete. Jesse searched his memory. “There’s somethin’ else though. Somethin’ else on the surface…”

Something about Hanzo’s phrasing had awakened another key. Hanzo looked to him expectantly.

“...you.”

“What?” Hanzo sat up to look at Jesse more properly.

Jesse blinked at his own answer, having spoken the word without truly realizing he had done so. In that moment, he knew that it was the right one. Yet there was something else that had been left unspoken, something else that needed to be said. He squinted, trying so hard to remember that which was just out of reach.

“That makes no sense. I am right here,” Hanzo frowned. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes. No,” Jesse shook his head and sat up as well. “I’m not sure, Hanzo. But I feel as though there’s somethin’ else that I need to say to you, but...that I need to be on the surface to say it.”

“Hmm.” Hanzo pulled back and Jesse panicked. Hanzo noticed, and his expression softened. He reached out to take Jesse’s hand. “You often make little sense to me, Jesse. But that does not change my feelings for you.”

“That’s a relief,” Jesse grinned happily, entwining their fingers. “So…where does this leave us?”

“Exactly where we are,” Hanzo answered, his voice soft. “I cannot convince you to stay, and I cannot bear to watch you get hurt. So I will continue to aid you.”

“You don’t gotta do that, Han,” Jesse shook his head. “I can’t drag you into--”

“You already have,’ Hanzo pointed out wryly. “Besides, if it means that I will be able to see you, it is worth it.”

“Oh, Hanzo,” Jesse’s expression filled with concern. “I--”

“Don’t,” Hanzo stopped him. “It is my choice.”

“...alright,” Jesse agreed reluctantly. He leaned in and Hanzo met him half way so that their lips met again. The kiss did not last nearly long enough, but Jesse had a feeling he would be content kissing Hanzo for all eternity, if given the chance.

“I must go,” Hanzo murmured in the short distance between them. “I’ve been away from my duties for too long.”

Jesse nodded. Hanzo stood and dressed quickly in front of Bastet’s mirror, and Jesse did the same.

Hanzo stopped in front of the door before leaving. “I would like to see you again,” he added, almost shyly. “If that would be alright.”

“Of course, darlin’,” Jesse beamed. “I’d like that very much.”

Hanzo nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Some time later, Jesse exited into the hallway to find the contractors gathering long planks of wood just outside of his room.

“What’s this for?” he asked them.

“A door,” Reaper voice answered from down the hall. “For your room.”

“I didn’t commission a...oh. Oh no.” Jesse looked up at Bastet just as the realization hit. She was trying very hard not to laugh.

From the far end of the House, there was a sudden splash, as though someone had just jumped into the Styx from Hanzo’s favourite balcony.

\---

The next trip started relatively smoothly. It was Genji in the dragon room this time, not Sojiro, and the youngest Shimada was still too equal parts amused and grossed out about the idea of Jesse’s new door to put up a good fight.

Jesse accidentally wandered into the Soldier’s glade late in his run, just as he needed a break. As always, he was first greeted by that introspective voice.

“You made the choice, not me, always taking matters into your own hands. You shouldn’t have killed him. And now I'm here. And you? You're somewhere else…”

“Howdy,” Jesse greeted him.

“You look like shit,” The Soldier replied.

“Thanks. Say,” Jesse pressed on. “I know you don’t like talkin’ about your past--”

“And yet somehow we always do,” Soldier grunted.

“That’s why I wanted to say thank you again.” Jesse handed him another bottle of nectar. “For doin’ so even though it ain’t easy.”

“Hmph.” Soldier looked thoughtfully at the nectar for some time.

“I can see you’re hurtin’,” Jesse continued with a small frown. “And I know this won’t help that. But if there is some way I could aid you, let me know.”

There was a long silence.

“Sit down, kid,” The Soldier replied at last.

Jesse obeyed, and took a seat beside the Soldier on the grassy knoll.

“You coming by. Having someone to talk to. That helps,” The Soldier grumbled reluctantly as he accepted the nectar.

“Happy to be of service then, sir!” Jesse grinned.

“Jack,” The Soldier supplied.

Jesse beamed at the revelation. “Jack. Pleased to meet you, Jack. What would you like to talk about?”

“There is only ever one thing on my mind,” The Soldier snorted. “So we might as well.”

“Oh.” Jesse rubbed at his neck. “I wouldn’t wanna--”

“It’s fine,” Jack waved dismissively. “I’ve been giving your question from last day some thought. About whether he was on their side.”

“Oh?” Jesse repeated, shuffling closer.

“I’m not sure I ever thought of it that way.”

“What?” Jesse blinked at him. “How could you not?”

“Here’s the thing,” Jack sighed. “Not sure if this goes for the gods, although I’m pretty sure that it does: nothing’s ever black or white, good or evil. Just because someone is against what you stand for, doesn’t mean they’re against you.”

“And he loves me. I know it,” Soldier continued more softly. “That will never be in doubt to me. Whether we’re on the same side or not, that’s a different story.”

“So if you’ve got a similar situation in your life, maybe your question isn’t really whether he’s with them,” Soldier suggested. “Do you understand yet, kid?”

“Yeah...I think I do,” Jesse replied softly.

“Good,” Jack nodded. “Then maybe you can avoid making the mistakes that I made.”

“I dunno, Jack,” Jesse shook his head. “Sounds like you were doin’ the best you could.”

“No,” Jack shook his head. “I should have trusted him, instead of the ideals. Gabriel was always quick to see through the bullshit. If only I’d liste--”

“I’m sorry, _Gabriel_?” Jesse interrupted.

Jack looked up. “That was his name.”

“The man with whom you rose in the ranks,” Jesse said slowly. “Whose allegiances became questionable. Who _abandoned_ you--”

“Wouldn’t go that far,” Soldier cut in wryly. “I did die, after all.”

“But...it...he…” Jesse sputtered, not even knowing where to start.

“You okay?” The mild concern in Jack’s eyes finally forced McCree to gather his thoughts.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, Jack,” Jesse answered, not knowing what else to say. His apology was meant to cover far more than the Soldier thought it did.

“Not a problem,” Jack shrugged. “Thanks for listening.”

Jesse stood. “Thanks for sharing your story. Listen, I gotta go, but...” he hesitated. “You deserve to know what happened to Gabriel.”

“Perhaps someday I will,” Jack stood as well. “I have eternity to figure it out, after all.”

“Hopefully it won’t take that long,” Jesse murmured, turning to leave.

“I hope so too,” Jack replied. “Oh yeah, take this.”

The Soldier unceremoniously dumped a cup of blood red water onto Jesse’s head.

“Where do you even get that?” Jesse tried to cough the Styx out of his lungs.

Jack only chuckled in reply.

Jesse left the chamber feeling torn: while he knew he was as close to the surface as he had ever been, part of him wanted to march back to the House so that he could confront his father with this new information. Luckily for him, his encounter with the knight and his squire in the next room meant that his decision was made for him.

“HELLO!”

“Hej hej!”

“Alright, now this is just unfai--”

**There is no escape**

\---

Jesse’s short passage down the Styx meant that his anger on the Soldier’s behalf had not yet dissipated by the time he reached House. He stomped down the hall, not even acknowledging Sombra as he passed.

“You!” Jesse growled.

The Reaper looked up from his work and sighed. “What is it now?”

“You’re the reason Jack’s stuck in Elysium.”

Lord Gabriel stiffened, clearly not expecting this.

“What.”

“You’re his Gabriel,” Jesse accused. “You took human form. You fought with him, raised another Legion and then betrayed the cause.”

“Don’t speak about things you don’t know,” Reaper warned, his voice low and dangerous.

Jesse refused to back down. All around him, shades scrambled away in fear as his aura expanded to take up space. “You’ve trapped him in Elysium, a shadow of the man that he was, decked in honours he doesn’t believe he deserves, because that’s the way you choose to remember him.”

“Because that’s what he deserves!” Reaper boomed. “He never deserved what they did to him!”

“And that excuses your actions? The betrayal?”

“You don’t even know what I did,” Lord Gabriel stood to lean over his desk with menace. “What I had to do.”

“You do love him, don’t you?” Jesse continued to challenge. “Whatever it was that you did while he was alive, whatever treachery. It doesn’t change that. That’s why he’s trapped. He’s waitin’ for closure he’ll never get because you don’t have the guts to face him. So you’ve just kept him there, thinkin’ it a reward. Well, it ain’t.”

“How dare you.” Reaper’s aura began to grow as well, filling every corner of the main hall. Shades flitted away in fear. “How _dare_ you try to speak as truth things you don’t understand?!”

Jesse lifted his chin in defiance. “So it’s true then?”

“I will not be so disrespected in my own House!” Reaper roared. “You want answers? Fine. Escape, if you can. On the surface, I’ll give you your answers. For now, get out of my sight!”

\---

A few more unsuccessful runs in a row, and Jesse began to wonder whether he would ever make it to the surface. While moving through Elysium was getting easier with every run, especially with Hanzo’s occasional aid, the length of the entire journey was still exhausting, meaning that whenever Jesse even made it to the Champions’ stadium, he would be too worn down to make it through.

Judging by the reaction from the others, his weariness was beginning to show. Jesse was pretty sure that Bastet stopped him for conversation whenever she could to force him to slow down. After countless attempts to eject Jesse from his glade, Jack begrudgingly told him to sit for as long as he needed. And Hanzo looked more and more worried each time he was able to catch up with Jesse. McCree could see that the Yokai was pushing himself hard during these encounters to keep Jesse safe, and Jesse’s heart ached every time Hanzo told him he had to go, because Hanzo so clearly did not want to.

After another round of getting maced in the face by the Squire, Jesse decided that he should take a break before the next run. Perhaps, if Hanzo was around, he could be convinced to share a drink with Jesse in the Lounge. Hanzo was not at his usual place on the balcony, to Jesse’s dismay.

He _was_ , however, waiting in Jesse’s bedroom.

“Oh! Howdy!” Some of the weariness fell away from Jesse’s expression. “Hope you’ve not been waiting long.”

“Hardly,” Hanzo waved off Jesse’s guilt. “I can track your return as easily as I can track your movements in the Underworld.”

“And how do you do that, exactly?” Jesse asked.

Hanzo blinked at him. “The stone dragon I gave you. I thought you knew.”

“Oh.” Of course, Jesse should have known. He reached into his tunic to procure the keepsake. “I had no idea.”

“Why else would you keep it with...oh.” Hanzo turned a darker shade of red.

“To have you with me all the time, of course,” Jesse grinned.

“Of course.” Hanzo was rolling his eyes, but Jesse could tell he was secretly pleased. “In any event, I have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition, you say?” Jesse drawled, taking several steps towards the Daitengu and wrapping both arms around his waist. “I’m listening.”

Hanzo pressed a hand firmly to Jesse’s chest. “No. Not that. Not right now at least,” he added belatedly.

“Oh,” Jesse was only slightly disappointed.

“I am...concerned,” Hanzo finally managed with some struggle, twisting his lips to form a grimace. “About you. About the toll of your undertaking.”

“That’s mighty sweet of you, Han, but you don’t gotta--”

“Whether I have to feel this way or not is irrelevant,” Hanzo snapped. “The fact of the matter is that I do.”

“Of course,” Jesse relented, reaching forward to grasp at his hand. Hanzo allowed it. “I’m sorry, darlin’, please continue.”

“So my proposition to you is…” Hanzo hesitated.

Jesse rubbed at the back of Hanzo’s hand reassuringly, and gave him time to find his words.

Hanzo looked up Jesse straight in the eye, his lips tense with determination. “...is that we go together.”

_“...is that we go together.”_

“What?” Jesse looked up abruptly. The echo resounded impressively throughout Jesse’s rooms, and made his heart shudder.

“We go together,” Hanzo repeated. “Through the realms of the Underworld.”

“Naw, Hanzo I--” Something about this moment felt familiar. It almost felt like he had done this before, answered in exactly the same way, and had done it wrong.

“This is not a journey you were meant to take by yourself,” Hanzo insisted.

_“This is not a journey you were meant to take by yourself.”_

The headache that was bothering him more and more as of late was slowly but surely returning. Jesse rubbed at his head, but felt a pair of hands replace his own.

“The gods know this. They have been sending their aid, and you have accepted their help. So why not mine?” Hanzo’s voice became brittle with indignation.

Jesse looked up, his face still framed in Hanzo’s grasp. He tried to answer.

_”You’ll get hurt.”_

His own voice echoed loudly in his ears, even though the words were not yet spoken.

_”What if you don’t make it back with me?”_

Jesse opened his mouth to speak his fears, but realized that he could not. In the face of what they’ve been through, of the many times Hanzo had to watch him return hurt, maimed, killed, these arguments fell flat.

“Livin’ the lives we do, death is commonplace, isn’t it?” Jesse asked instead softly.

Hanzo tilted his head. He had readied himself for more argument and was now bewildered to receive none. “Yes.”

“It’s rare...to find another who’d be willing to walk this path together with you. Like Jack. And Gabriel.” Jesse nuzzled the hand by his cheek and looked upwards to meet Hanzo’s gaze. “And I am honoured, humbled that you would wanna do so.”

“Thank you,” Hanzo breathed a soft sigh of relief, leaning forward so that their heads touched. “So…?”

Jesse nodded. “We go together.”

As soon as he had spoken, Jesse felt something click into place, felt as though something he himself had broken was finally whole once again.


	4. Πεδιον Ηλυσιον, ἁματροχάω - Elysian Fields, Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse tries to pass through the realms of the Underworld again, this time with Hanzo by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Sorry for the long wait! I'm having trouble ensuring that all of these threads come together here. We're not quite done yet: I figure this last section split naturally again before Jesse reaches the surface. If you had time, I would love to hear your thoughts! <3

Hanzo managed to force Jesse to take a nap before starting their first attempt through the Underworld, although it did not take much convincing at all once Hanzo began to take off his own clothes. 

Much later, they reached the exit portal together for the first time.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Jesse asked, sliding his eyes to observe Hanzo. 

“Of course,” Hanzo answered without pause. 

“But my father—” Jesse began. 

“You have met _my_ father, correct?” Hanzo asked with an arched eyebrow. 

“Good point,” McCree acknowledged with a small laugh. He pressed a hand to Hanzo’s arm. “Let’s go then.” 

As they cut through the weapons room and walked through the exit window, Jesse wondered whether there would be a boon waiting for him on the opposite side. He did not expect to see Bastet herself there instead.

“Ma’am,” McCree tipped his hat in greeting. Hanzo nodded, but maintained a greater distance. 

“You have found a partner in this endeavor, then,” Bastet said. “Good. I am happy for you both.” She made a point of turning her warm smile to Hanzo as well. Hanzo’s posture relaxed ever so slightly. 

“Are you here to offer me a blessin’?” Jesse asked, half teasing. 

“You already have my blessing,” Bastet chuckled. She nodded towards Hanzo. “And you have all the help that you need.” 

She stepped in closer. “He would follow you into the depths of the Underworld and back. You understand what this means?”

“Yeah,” Jesse replied softly. 

“Good,” Bastet nodded. “Then go. And return to us soon, habibi.” 

_”Return to us soon, habibi.”_

Her words echoed once with painful clarity through Jesse’s head. He winced, but shook it away. 

“Do my best,” he promised, tipping his hat one more time before going through the first set of doors. 

Together, Jesse and Hanzo cleared the rooms of Tartarus with ease. Even though he had been leading the charge through most of the chambers, however, Hanzo stopped as they reached the stone dragon door.

“What’s wrong?” Jesse asked. 

Hanzo lowered his bow and turned back to face him. “I...cannot raise my weapon against Genji. Not again.”

“Ah...of course not,” Jesse nodded. 

“We’ve not even left the halls of Tartarus and I’ve already failed you,” Hanzo muttered, slamming his hand hard on the wall. 

“Hey. No,” Jesse pulled Hanzo’s hand away from the hard stone and held it between his own. “You’re with me. That’s all I need.” 

Hanzo took a long breath to steady himself, but did not look convinced. 

“If you wanna wait it out here, I’ll just see you in the next room?” Jesse suggested. 

Hanzo was about to answer when the door opened by itself. 

McCree raised Peacekeeper out of habit, and Hanzo grasped more tightly at his bow. 

“Are you two ever going to come in?” Genji complained. “I’m getting bored.”

“You are always bored,” another voice huffed with amusement. From the shadows, Sojiro took several steps forward to stand fully in the light. 

“Well, shit,” Jesse said, feeling like that statement didn’t really cover it. 

“Come in, then,” Sojiro boomed. Jesse and Hanzo stepped gingerly into the room. Jesse jumped as the door slammed behind them. 

“So.” Sojiro turned his attention first to his eldest son. “You would help him? You would directly defy Lord Gabriel’s orders?” 

“Yes, father.” Hanzo answered simply, and without hesitation. 

“And you.” Sojiro turned to Jesse. “You who have inspired such disobedience, who have turned against your own father. You would pull my son into harm’s way for your own gain?” Sojiro began to advance on Jesse with each word, his aura growing larger and larger as he did so. 

“With all respect, sir, Hanzo asked to come. Demanded it,” Jesse explained, doing his best not to shrink back. “And I’ve learned that there’s no stoppin’ him once he’s put his mind to somethin’.” 

He was standing fully in Sojiro’s shadow now. The bright yellow eyes peered down at him, and an uncomfortable stillness fell across the whole room. Without warning, Sojiro burst into a loud, booming laughter and took several steps back. 

“And Gabriel suggested you were unteachable,” Sojiro scoffed. 

“Your dad has a sense of humour?” Jesse leaned in to whisper to Hanzo. 

“Barely,” Hanzo replied, rolling his eyes.

“Well. This should be interesting,” Genji took a few steps forward and unsheathed his sword. 

“I will not participate in this fight,” Hanzo shook his head. “I have vowed never to raise my weapon against Genji ever again.”

“Things are different between us now, anija,” Genji replied gravely. “The only thing I would hold against you is your horrible taste in mates.” 

“Genji…” Sojiro warned.

“Last I checked you weren’t so picky yourself about who you brought ho…” Jesse trailed off as he began to sense the mortification exuding from Genji in waves from behind his mask, and as Sojiro turned his attention on him. 

“It just so happens,” Sojiro continued as though Jesse had not spoken. “That I too have taken an oath to never again hurt my sons. And I suppose that killing you while Hanzo watched would cause him pain.” 

Hanzo flinched even at the thought of it. Jesse felt a pang of guilt deep in his chest, fully realizing now the toll his escape attempts have had on Hanzo. He gently placed a hand over Hanzo’s in reassurance, and, even though he did not react otherwise, the tension set in Hanzo’s shoulders lessened. 

Jesse turned his attention back to Sojiro, uncertain about the outcome of their current impasse until the doors behind the two Yokai drew open. 

“Go. Both of you.” Sojiro motioned to the exit. “May you find the answers for which you are searching, Son of Death.” 

“Thank you, father,” Hanzo bowed slightly before taking off. 

“Thank you, si-augh!” 

As Jesse walked past, Sojiro grasped him by the neck with one of his huge hands and held him several inches off the floor. 

“Hurt him, and I hurt you,” he leaned in to rumble into Jesse’s ear. He dropped Jesse unceremoniously, and by some small miracle, McCree managed to land on his feet. 

“Understood, sir,” Jesse coughed, rubbing at his neck as he scrambled after Hanzo. He ran into Genji next, who was standing right next to the door. 

“Find whatever it is you are looking for quickly, McCree,” he said quietly. “I do not know if my brother’s heart can take it for much longer.”

 _“I do not know if my brother’s heart can take it for much longer.”_

Jesse winced as the echoed words caused his head to throb once more. He shook it off and turned his attention back to Genji with complete earnestness. 

“You have my word.”

\---

The fields of Asphodel were hardly a challenge at all. Individually, Hanzo and Jesse were already formidable opponents. Together, motivated by the fierce desire to protect each other, they were unstoppable. The polybolos didn’t stand a chance.

Elysium was more difficult, but not as impossible as before. Every time an Elysian hero came close to landing a strike from behind, Jesse would turn to find an arrow through the shade’s eye, or Hanzo’s bow against their neck.

After battling through a long series of rooms, they found their way to Jack’s glade, and were greeted by his soft voice. 

“What’s keeping you from me, I wonder? Is it something beyond your control? Or have you chosen to stay away?” 

Hanzo turned to Jesse, the question in his eyes.

“He doesn’t have anyone else to talk to,” Jesse explained. “Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

As they approached his spot, Jack fell silent. He acknowledged Jesse with a small nod, and looked warily at Hanzo. 

“It’s alright,” Jesse assured him. “This is Hanzo, my--” Jesse stopped, realizing he could no longer use the word “friend”, and not knowing what to say in its absence. Luckily, his hesitation was answer enough. 

Jack chuckled. “Not for long, if this is your idea of a date.” 

“This was his idea,” Jesse protested. 

“Hmm…” Jack looked McCree over, and seemed pleased to find him in better health than usual. He turned to Hanzo. “I’m glad you have his back.” 

The Soldier’s words put Hanzo more at ease. He came a few steps closer and snorted. “Someone has to.” 

“Y’all just met, and you’re already gangin’ up on me?” Jesse grumbled. 

“Call it payment for putting up with your endless chatter,” Jack said. “Speaking of which.  
I have a question for you this time.” 

“Oh?” Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Well, shoot.” 

“You’ve seen him, haven’t you?” The question wasn’t nearly as accusatory as it should have been. “You know him. That’s why you reacted the way you did when I told you his name.”

Jesse just blinked at him, unable to respond. 

“That’s alright,” Jack chuckled ruefully. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I don’t want to make things difficult for you. Just. If you see him again…”

Jack trailed off, his eyes focused on something distant over the fake horizon. 

“Yeah?” Jesse prompted gently. 

“Tell him something for me,” Jack murmured, bringing his gaze back to meet Jesse’s. “Tell him to come home.” 

\--- 

Jesse adjusted his hat as they arrived at the doors to the stadium to face the champions. 

“I’ve never beat ‘em before, but we’ve evened the odds this time,” He narrowed his eyes at the door, as though he were trying to intimidate the champions through it. 

Hanzo nodded. “We will need a plan. Let’s--” 

“Alright old man, I’m back!” Jesse opened the door before he could finish. 

“Ah! You have returned!” The knight looked incredibly pleased to see him, as always. “And you’ve brought a friend!” 

Jesse turned to find Hanzo glaring daggers at him, and only then realized that the daitengu had been saying something while he was opening the door. “This is...”

“Oh, we know Hanzo!” The squire answered brightly. “He’s often here looking for you. Usually just a second too late.”

“You always die quicker than I expect in the arena,” Hanzo confirmed, still sulking. “Likely because you never come in with a _plan_.” 

Jesse couldn’t really argue with that. 

“Come now, no need to quarrel,” The knight boomed. “There is far more glory in this fight!” He raised his shield and the squire followed suit. 

Jesse and Hanzo loaded their weapons, and the knight and squire began to advance upon them. Jesse knew from past experience to stay clear of the squire’s bashing range, but the flail always caught him off guard. 

“Oh fuck!” Jesse flew backwards just as the knight charged for Hanzo. Hanzo leaped lithely out of the way, straight into the squire’s shield. 

“Ungh!”

Jesse grabbed Hanzo’s waist and pulled him away from the knight’s hammer just as it was about to smash into his face, taking several parting shots that were all blocked by the squire’s shield. 

Hanzo took to the air and tried to aim his arrows over their shields, but the knight tilted his shield upwards while the squire sent her flail straight into his chest. Jesse ran to catch Hanzo before he could hit the ground, and they tumbled to the floor together before rolling to their feet. Hanzo hissed, the light behind his mask intensifying. 

“Distract them,” he leans in to whisper before taking flight again. “I need a moment.” 

“A moment for what?” Jesse screamed. He was running full speed to dodge the knight’s erratic charge that threatened to flatten him against the wall.

Hanzo flew to the top of one of the pillars and drew his bow. The light from behind his mask grew even brighter, and drew into his tattoo, wrapping down his arm until it set his arrow aglow. 

“Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!”

Twin spectral dragons burst forward from his grasp, their blue bodies twinning and passing straight through both shields. Both knight and squire cried out, dropping their stance in surprise. 

“Finally,” Jesse grinned. “Set ‘em up…” 

He emptied his clip with a few perfectly-aimed shots. 

“...knock them down,” Hanzo replied, finishing the job. 

The knight made a noise that was part laugh, part wheeze. The floor of the stadium was already flooded red with the waters of the Styx. “Well done, my friends! We shall have to have a rematch!”

The exit doors opened, and the rest of the river rushed through them, carrying the champions away. The entire stadium crowd roared their approval. 

Jesse waved at them with his hat. “Hey! I think they like me!”

The crowd began to chant Hanzo’s name and Jesse’s face fell just a bit. 

“I’m sure they still like you,” Hanzo offered, not really sounding like he believed it at all. 

“Hmph,” Jesse put his hat back on his head and tried not to look too put out. 

They arrived at what Jesse knew to be the Temple of the Styx, although he had never seen it before himself. They crossed its long, polished hallway, towards the last set of doors standing between Jesse and the surface world. As they approached its exit, Hanzo hesitated. “I cannot go further.” 

“What?” Jesse turned. 

“I cannot,” Hanzo growled, trying to move his feet forward. “Something is stopping me. I do not have...jurisdiction.”

“...oh.” Somehow, Jesse is not surprised by this. In fact, he might have even preferred it. What would happen after all, if he were to finally manage his escape? What could possibly be said to Hanzo then?

“This next part...you must do it alone.” Hanzo didn’t sound at all happy about this, despite the finality of his words. 

“Hanzo...if I make it to the surface…” Jesse faltered. Would he come back? 

Hanzo simply shook his head. 

“I will be waiting.” 

_”I will be waiting.”_

A sharp pain stabbed through Jesse’s eyes, and all of a sudden, Jesse knew that this was what he had to do. 

“Okay,” he nodded. He reached forward to cup Hanzo’s face with both his hands, and leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “Okay--No, wait.”

Jesse pulled back, as panic collected at his throat. There was something more to say, something he’d not been able to find words for yet before now. The phrase that he had been meaning to say to Hanzo once he had reached the surface was almost within grasp, and yet it somehow felt like the window was quickly closing.

“Hanzo, when I said I liked you,” Jesse felt fear collect in his heart, even though they were in no danger, and there was no hurry. “What I meant was that I lo--”

“I will be waiting,” Hanzo repeated, pulling Jesse to him again. Hanzo held him close, and tilted his head to press a kiss to Jesse’s lips--one that was insistent, and already full of longing. They parted, breathless, locked in a moment that they both wished would last longer than it could. It was too late.

Jesse stroked the side of Hanzo’s face one last time. He turned for the last doorway, and did not look back.


End file.
